His dad was working the door, pasting campaign stickers on jackets as supporters arrived at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum in Hyannis Monday, His mother was smiling and chatting with friends, and his brothers were circulating. His children and wife were nearby.

It was time to commence another Atsalis family campaign for state representative.

The center of this dedication, four-time rep Demetrius Atsalis, looked rather formal in his suit and tie, more man-on-the-wedding-cake than rough-and-tumble old pol.

But don't count Atsalis as passive in a year when his Republican opponent, Will Crocker, is questioning the integrity of members of the Legislature in which Atsalis serves.

"Everyone knows I've got the integrity," the representative told his supporters. "I've got my father and brothers to set me straight."

"He started off young at this profession," father John Atsalis said while he took a break from sticker-planting duties. "I think he's a natural."

John Atsalis ran for the same seat in the 1960s, against the formidable Republican Jerry Bowles. "He trimmed me pretty good," he recalled.

That experience gives him some qualification to sum up his son's progress since 1998. "He's matured greatly," he said.

That sounds right to Dave and Olive Chase, old friends of the family and loyal backers of Atsalis.

"He's his own man," Olive said of the representative. "He has his own positions. As (House) leadership changes, he stays."

For his part, Atsalis spoke of bringing home many varieties of bacon, including funds for the museum in which he stood Monday night. Other accomplishments cited included money for the JFK Hyannis Museum and statue, Main Street upgrades, field improvements for the Hyannis Mets, and the coming Hyannis Youth and Community Center.

One of Atsalis's sponsored bills, to extend investigator's ability to research unsubstantiated reports of elder abuse from three months to three years, just passed the House, He spoke also of continuing the state's work as a biotechnology center. "We took politics out of it, our religious beliefs," he said of approval of new technologies. "We stepped up to the plate."

Atsalis said he would be willing to roll back state income taxes to 5 percent, as a large majority of voters demanded years ago in a referendum, when eight consecutive quarters of growth are reported. "We've had five," he said.

In the end, respect is a core virtue for Atsalis, who said that's what he receives from his constituents, as well as his colleagues on Beacon Hill.